The Gift of Bearing Witness: Trauma Treatment at its core with Mary Bromley
Mary Bromley is wise, warm, creative, funny and whip smart - grounded in good instincts honed over the forty years she has worked as a therapist with trauma survivors, as well as a diverse client population of adults and children and adolescents.
In this conversation she helps us understand the wide spectrum trauma can fall on - from car accidents to natural disasters, mass shootings to sexual assaults; and that individual responses to trauma are unique to each person. There is no one way to heal trauma, she explains, there is only finding the right fit for you.
Her way is talk therapy, which she describes as a “Loving Contract:” being a witness to the trauma and then helping her clients become free of it, teaching them to be present and mindful now that the trauma is over, helping them to feel strong and empowered. Deep Listening, “Whatever you have to say to me is not going to make me afraid, I will be right here,” and Witnessing, “I’m the witness you never had,” are the cornerstones to her practice.
Meet This Episode's Guest
Mary with Katie Beers
Mary Bromley
Mary is a Psychotherapist and Clinical Social Worker with 35 years of experience. She has worked at The Post Graduate Center for Mental Health, St. Vincent's Hospital (Rape Crisis Treatment Center & the Adolescent Clinic ), The Ross School, and the East Hampton Town Police Department. Mary co-founded "The Retreat," the only domestic violence center on the East End of Long Island. She has a private practice where she deals primarily with anxiety and depressive disorders. She treats adolescents, adults and families. She also continues to work as a consultant for the East Hampton Town Police Department Detective Squad for sexual abuse and crisis intervention situations. Her philosophy of practice is "mindfulness" or cognitive behavioral therapy to address issues of trauma, post-traumatic stress and anxiety.
Read more about Mary in an article from the East Hampton Star